Plans to build a monorail in Guildford have temporarily gone off the rails after the scheme's backer dropped it due to a lack of support.

Guildford-based company, Carr West, has shelved the scheme to concentrate on other variable level rail system (VLRS) projects.

But Surrey County Council officers are due to meet Guildford Borough Council in an attempt to resurrect the project. The scheme would have run from Slyfield, where there would be a car park, into the town centre and then across to the university.

A lack of support from the local authorities has been cited as the main reason the scheme has been dropped, said Carr West's spokesman, Victor Trocki. The project has had a bumpy ride, and has been discussed by councillors over the last three years, but no commitment was ever made to the scheme. An independent report found it would be highly unlikely that the scheme could be funded on an exclusively commercial basis and so external capital would be needed.

Mr Trocki said: "We notified councillors of the decision because of perceived transport policy within the borough and the county." But he added: "We may come back to it at a later date."

County councillor, Tom Sharp (Lib Dem, Guildford South) championed the scheme as the answer to Guildford's traffic congestion and he said he still supported the idea. "A substantial switch away from the car could be achieved with a scheme of this sort. I have always believed in it," he added.

The manger of the local transport group, George Burnett, said: "We are trying to sound people out at the moment. We are very keen in progressing this type of scheme if it should prove to be viable," he said.